Heart to Heart
by Illa 321
Summary: This is what I think would have happened after the Mudblood incident, had Lily not given up on Sev. He truly deserves his happy life. If you like it, don't hesitate to let me know! Rated T because it's my first fanfic and I'm paranoid. I don't own Harry Potter, or its characters. It all belongs to Ms Rowling.
1. The M word

"I don't need any help from a little filthy Mudblood!"

He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He hated them. He could see the hurt and indignation in her green eyes, and feel the horror and the shock coming to the surface of his own expression.

With a furious movement of her wand. Lily broke the spell. Potter and his minions looked at her with astonished eyes. He felt himself hit the floor and welcomed the acute pain. He had hurt her; he deserved it.

"Fine, then." He heard her say, her voice broken by betrayal. "This situation will not repeat itself. You need not worry Mr. Snape. I shan't put you through the humiliation of offering my filthy Mudblood help ever again".

The way she said it! Distant, cold, detached. Severus would have rather taken an Unforgivable million times over, than hear her talk to him like that.

"Lily…" he muttered helplessly

"Save your breath!" she snapped.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled, following her inside the castle.

"I don't want to hear it!"

"I'm sorry"

"My, my Mr. Snape, I would have thought you knew better than that: filthy Mudbloods like myself aren't worth your apologies."

She had run for the sake of running, her eyes filled with tears she refused to shed. They went like this through countless moving staircases, and crowded hallways: Lily trying to escape; Severus following her like an automat, incapable of anything different.

_I need to get away. I need to get away. I HAVE to get away. I can't let him see me like this._

She looked around, desperate to find a way out, and was grateful two doors that had appeared where there used to be a plain wall. Without stopping to wonder where they had come from, Lily grabbed the handle and pushed the huge doors open with all she had in her. She did so with such force, that she stumbled, and was about to hit the floor in what would have been a pretty nasty fall, when she felt a pair of trembling arms holding her tight to prevent it.

"LILY!" he had screamed, and reached out for her without thinking.

Both stumbled inside, heard the doors close behind them, Severus still not releasing his grip, but allowing her to turn around and face him. All of a sudden, it became too much for Lily. She broke down.

"I can't," she gasped through her fugitive tears. "_Why_, Severus Snape? Why can't I be angry with you? I bloody well should!"

"I know" he whispered. "I'm sorry". She could feel his tears in her hair. He, too, had been crying. And for the first time in his life Severus Snape, did it freely: without feeling weak, or ashamed because of it. "I should have never said that. I'm an idiot."

"Don't hate me Sev. _Please,_ don't hate me" she choked out.

"Lily, look at me," he pleaded, softly lifting her chin with his long, trembling fingers. "I could _never_ hate you. Ever."

He kissed her head as she buried her face in his robes.

"I'm scared, Sev…" she muttered

"Don't be", he breathed against her silky red hair.

"They'll hurt you Sev. And they will take you away from me. They hate me. And they'll make you hate me, too"

"They won't. They _can't_" he answered vehemently

"Don't you see? They've already started. They made you call me like you did"

"I'm sorry Lily. I really am," he said for what felt like the hundredth time, never believing it to be enough.

"I know. But _why, _Sev?"

He knew what she was asking: "Why are you with them? Why do you even listen to them? Why do you insist on revenge?"

"All of my life," he said, forcing the truth to come out; she deserved to hear it. "I have been told I'm no better than the dirt underneath my shoes. I've been stepped on and mistreated. I haven't been able to stand up for the ones I love, not to mention myself. I've had enough of it. _They_ offer me a chance to stop that. They offer me power"

"They just want to use you, Sev!" She said, desperate, hugging him tightly. "They'll hurt you. You're a _half-blood_ for Merlin's sake! They only want you as their traveling cauldron, because, let me inform you, _you_ are a hundred times better than all of their heads put together."

"Well, at least that's something," he muttered bitterly. "Nobody has ever cared about me, Lily. But they do, they _want me_. It does not matter why."

"Well, it bloody well should! What about me then?" She said fiercely, locking her emerald eyes on his. "I _CARE! _You are the _most important_ person in my life and I _refuse_ to let them take you away from me. Over my dead body! I'd rather face a damned army of Death Eaters and even _yourself _to prevent it! If I have to, then so be it."

"Lily, are you serious?"- he asked, eyes wide

"No, I'm Lily. Of course I'm serious, you idiot! _What on earth_ has led you to believe I'm joking? Why else do you reckon I bear with pretending to fancy a bloody toerag?", she answered exasperated.

"Y-Y-You were trying to make _me _jealous?!" he stuttered dumbfounded.

"By Merlin, Severus, I swear! Sometimes you can be _such_ a dunderhead!" she exclaimed dramatically, with a smirk he recognized as his own, before leaning in to brush his poor astonished lips with her own.

Lily then took a step back and watched him, with his signature smirk still on. It turned into a laugh as she saw a moon-wide smile spread through her best friend's face, who looked at her as had he accidentally fallen inside a cauldron with a recently brewed love potion.

She then heard his deep, incredulous laugh join her own in a joyful chorus, and said smugly:

"I really must be something, huh? Not many people in this universe can have the privilege of saying that they've made Severus Snape, the soon-to-be youngest Potions Master in Europe, laugh his heart out. My friends will be _so_ jealous."

Still in laughter, Severus swiftly closed the distance between them, and engulfed the love of his life in a tender embrace.


	2. Perfect for Brewing

**A****/N: This is a short chapter, I know. It had to be, for the sake of the plot. I already have some ideas for the next chapters, so I should be updating soon. Thank you very much for the support. Enjoy.**

**PS. Would you mind telling me who were the Potions and DADA Professors at the time?**

* * *

"Um…Lily, where exactly are we?"-asked Severus hesitantly after a while, as he started to become aware of their surroundings. It wasn't like anything he remembered. There was a fireplace irradiating warmth, faced by a red, seemingly comfortable couch, with an empty bookshelf and a desk at the corner. That would make one think of a common room… Had they accidentally stepped into Huffelpuff's common room? If so, where was everyone?

"I don't know… I didn't really see where I was going."

And then Severus noticed the dark opposite corner. It was a potions lab!

"I just kept thinking I needed to get away, and then these doors appeared out of nowhere and- _Oh_!"- she gasped excitedly in realization.

"Lily?"

"Don´t you see Sev? This is amazing!"- she exclaimed

" What is it?"

"We found the ROOM OF REQUIREMENT!"

"You act as if those two words were the explanation of all the mysteries in the universe…."- he answered, still lost.

"Really Sev, didn't you even try to read Hogwarts a History when I lent it to you?"- she sighed

"I never told you this, but I found it completely dull and pretentious. It went on and on with compliments to this castle without really saying anything. I couldn't get past page twenty. I can't bring myself to imagine how you were able to bear reading it through"

"Well, had you read it, you would know what I'm talking about"- she rolled her eyes and chuckled at his disgusted expression. With a resigned sigh, she gave him a short explanation about it. "It must have heard your wishes and not only mine"- she said, throwing an amused look at the dark corner of the room.

"You mean this is only ours? Only you and I can get inside? And _no one_ knows of its whereabouts?"- he asked cheerfully

"I suppose so, yes…"- Lily answered. "I am sure"- she added after a moment of hesitation.

"So…_ that"-_ he said, pointing at the potions lab -"is _mine_?"- he asked in awe. "W-we could share of course, if you wish"- he added hurriedly

"Yes Sev. It's yours. Merry Christmas in advance, I guess."- she chuckled

And before she knew it, he threw his arms around her in an unexpected hug,

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" he exclaimed, lifting her up and spinning around in circles.

"But I didn't do anything!"- she laughed

"I don't care. You are taking the credit for this, whether you want it or not"- he stated, decidedly

He looked at the lab again._ his_ lab. It reminded him of one in a potions magazine he'd seen lately. It had everything: A complete equipment and a glass closet full with ingredients… He'd have to test them before even attempting to brew anything complicated, just to be sure… and it was fairly small. But still. It was _his_.

Lily just stood there in silence, mesmerized by the blissful expression on Severus' face. To see him beaming like that… it was a rare occurrence. She was going to change that.


	3. Never Mess with the Queen of Charms

**A/N: Here it is, a new chapter. Big thanks to Elenor GreanLeEf for Betaing. Enjoy.**

* * *

Lily lay comfortable in the red couch, with a thick book on her hands. She had just returned from the library, and the previously empty shelves were now filled with books of all shapes and sizes. The space was beginning to show her presence, her personal touch.

_Where are you Sev? What's taking you so long?_

It was a mute arrangement between the two of them: they would meet in _their common room_ (as they liked to call it) after classes, and sometimes during Quidditch matches. They'd study together or experiment with magic: Lily trying new her charms, and Severus altering the potions to his liking. It didn't always have positive results, but they had never been seriously harmed. It was almost an everyday occurrence for them to appear in the Hospital Wing in unstoppable laughter, where Madame Pomfrey took it upon her to fix the mess they made of themselves. The witch, who thought she had seen everything at this point of her life, was proved wrong by Lily and Severus every afternoon. One time, they had gone to her with their skin tone constantly changing. She had quite a scare when they seemed to melt with the wall. At first she had eyed them suspiciously and asked a lot of questions. However, as days went by she gave up on lecturing them, received them with a smile, and a stern look, which quickly faded away. Before she knew it she had started to look forward to their daily visit, and had a hard time trying to stop herself from joining them in laughter.

The sound of the huge doors opening brought her back from cloud nine.

"Sev, are you ok? What the hell happened to you?" she asked in alarm, guiding him to the couch. His hair was a mess and his usually impeccable robes were faltered and covered in dust. He was holding a handkerchief to his nose. It was bleeding.

"James Bloody Potter and his dammed minions, is what happened," he said, jerking his head upwards to stop the nosebleed.

_Idiots! Who do they think they are?_ Lily thought indignantly.

"Here," said Lily, conjuring a bag of ice, "this should help a bit."

"Thanks," he said, with half a smile.

It was while casting a _Scourgify_, to clean his robes, that Lily noticed the biggest difference on Severus aspect.

"Sev… I don't mean to upset you, but…. What happened to your eyebrows?"

"What's with them?"

"They're gone," she sighed.

"What do you mean they're gone?" He asked, touching his forehead with one hand, while holding the bag of ice in place with the other. "Those _BASTARDS _vanished my eyebrows!"

"Sev, you have to calm down," she pleaded. "You're only making the bleeding worse."

"The _WHOLE _school was laughing at me, Lily! And I didn't even know why! They made me look like an utter idiot," He told her, lowering his voice and ending with a whisper.

"I don't understand how they could find me alone. We didn't have classes together. You were with them, and I walked beside Prof. Sprout for quite a while. Sometimes I could swear they put a tracking spell on me," he sighed. "I have checked, nothing, but who knows? They could've made their own."

"Hold on, what did you just say?" asked Lily, clearly upset.

"They could have made their own spell?" Severus answered, uncertain.

"That _GIT_ had the guts to trick _ME_!" she exclaimed suddenly in realization.

"Lily?" he asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, Sev. I'll fix this, I promise." She got up, kissing him swiftly, and started walking towards the door.

"But first," she said, turning around with a smile, "let me give you your eyebrows back" She casted a glamour spell on him, and conjured a mirror.

"How did I do?"

"You got them back!" He exclaimed happily. "You're a genius"

"I know, I know," she waved him off smirking.

"How?"

"A glamour spell. It changes your appearance," she explained.

"Like this!" Lily enlarged their ears, making Severus chuckle.

"You should practice," she suggested, showing him the wand movements. "You have to renew it every morning for a week. I guess your real eyebrows should be back by then"

"I will," he promised.

"Good" she said, kissing him goodbye again. "I'll be right back. I have to go clear some things with a certain chocaholic git."

"Have fun," he chuckled in amusement and then thought,_ Lupin is doomed._

Lily walked through the castle to the one place where she knew she would find him alone: the library. The whole idea of setting a foot in the place was almost a blasphemy for the three idiots.

And there he was, just as expected. He was hunched in his usual place, eyes alternating between two open books and several pieces of parchment scrambled across the desk. This was where he scribbled almost hysterically, only pausing every now and then to put a hand in his pocket. Lily almost forgot her anger, when she first caught sight of him. Remus Lupin, the man who found a method in the madness, who stepped in the thin line that borders the territories of order and chaos. They had become very close friends the past few years, especially while patrolling the halls as Gryffindor Prefects. There was always plenty of time to talk. They soon found out that they had much in common, and that it was easy for them to trust each other. It was with Remus that Lily talked about Severus, when she was scared for him. Lily was, in turn the first and only student in the castle to whom Remus voluntarily revealed his darkest secret. She found a brother in him that would somehow make up for the sister she knew she had lost to hatred, and he found in Lily his first true friend. She had given him the robes he was wearing as a Christmas. Lily had magically enlarged and charmed the pockets, in order for him to be able to keep his whole secret stash of chocolate always with him.

"Hey there, Loony Moony," she greeted, as usual.

He smiled warmly, without taking his eyes of the parchment before him, "Hello, Lils."

"I'm mad at you" She stated.

He snapped his head up in alarm. "Whatever for?!" He tried to recall anything he had done the past two weeks that might have upset her, but failed.

"You tricked me."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lils."

She snorted. "Lily please you have to help me, they're always copying my papers in class," She imitated him mockingly. "Lils, they stole my homework; I need it back. I'm sure they hid it somewhere, but they won't tell me. _Please_ help me, oh you almighty Queen of Charms!"

"You would definitely starve as an actress. That could never be me. Besides, how could you ever succeed in your career with such a lousy memory! Those weren't my words. I'll give you an A for effort, though." He said, with a smile.

She glared at him.

"I still don't follow. _You _charmed the parchments_. I_ got my papers back, happy Ending."

"Don't play innocent at me, Remus John Lupin. I know you did something other than your homework with the parchments, maybe some sort of a map. I know you better than anyone, so don't you try to deny it. I know you use it to follow people around."

"I do not. Come on, Lils. It's just a map, nothing else," he said, in an attempt to appease her.

"I want to see it, then."

"No, I've already said too much. It's not only my secret to share."

She smirked at him. His argument was easy to take down. "I bet you did most of the work, though. I doubt Peter is capable of such level of magic, and Sirius is too lazy to do anything at all. Besides, I gave you the basis for it. I made it, too. Therefore, it rightfully belongs to me as well. "

"You may have a point," he said hesitantly.

"Come on, Rem. Don't you trust me, your sister in everything but blood?" She gave him a strange combination of puppy eyes and a wolfish grin, an expression she had learned from him. At first she mimicked it for fun, and now she used it every time she needed to convince him of anything.

"You know I do and I would show it to you, but unfortunately I don't have it with me at the moment."

"Who has it then?"

Before he could give her an answer they were interrupted by Peter, who came to the door hurriedly but did not enter the library. He sighed in relief, he wouldn't have to lie. All was perfect until Pete decided to open his mouth.

"Hey Remus, Sirius and James are headed to the Quidditch Pitch. They told me to give you this. It's the extra parchment you said you needed. You know, for the extra choc.., I mean Charms Homework."

Lily narrowed her eyes at Peter. "It's alright Pete," she said in a sweet yet menacing tone, "we're working together. You can give it to me, if you'd like." Lily could be quite scary if she wanted to.

Peter was unable to resist her subtle command, and handed her the parchment with a terrified, "O…O…Ok." He was blind to Remus desperate gestures urging him to run away. He did run however, as soon as Lily turned to Remus with a smirk.

"There, problem solved. What's the password, Rem?"

"I..I, um..." he stuttered.

"Oh, silly me. I don't need it. I charmed it myself, so I can undo it." She said smugly.

"Don't. 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good,'" he chanted, pointing his wand at the map.

Lily snorted at the introduction. "Mm, Mssr Moony, your friends seem so full of themselves. Hopefully they didn't rub it off to you." She told him, jokingly.

Soon, her mockery turned into admiration. "It's the whole of Hogwarts!" she exclaimed, "and everyone is in there, even me! You managed to expand my Homonculous Charm at a large scale. It's impressive, Rem."

She waived her wand at the map.

Remus felt alarmed. "Lils, what are you doing?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Moony. Don't fret, just a few Diagnostic Spells. I want to know how you did it."

Remus shifted in his feet, uncomfortable.

"Here you go. See, it didn't hurt." Lily handed him the map and then stated matter-of-factly, "but I hope you do realize, little brother, that you just gave Potter a tool to stalk me, your lovely innocent sister. So I'm still mad at you." She walked towards the door, without giving shocked Remus time to react.

So, he did what he always did in these situations. He reached for a bit of chocolate to put into his mouth, but spat it out in disgust faster than one could say "Quidditch".

Right then, he noticed thick black letters appearing on the map.

_NEVER MESS WITH THE QUEEN OF CHARMS_


End file.
